Cahal Pech

Got a taste for ancient history? Want to explore the ruins of an ancient and fascinating civilization? While staying at Mystic River Resort, make sure you visit Cahal Pech, a site of Mayan ruins located in the town of San Ignacio. Mystic River makes adventure travel in Belize easy and convenient!

Cahal Pech, whose Maya name means “Place of The Ticks” contains some evidence of some of the earliest Maya settlements in Belize. Data recovered at the centre indicates that the first settlers began to occupy the site somewhere between 1200 and 1000 BC. Excavation during the past 12 years suggest that during the Classic Period, Cahal Pechand its sustaining area may have encompassed a realm of around 10 square miles. Cahal Pech also contains one of the earliest stela (monument) yet discovered in this region of the Maya Lowlands.

Cahal Pech was once a palacio home for an elite Mayan family. This ceremonial centre includes pyramid temples, palaces and a ball court. It is one of the oldest recognizably Maya sites in western Belize, resting high on the banks of the Macal River. The site was abandoned in the 9th century AD for unknown reasons.

Cahal Pech is now an archaeological park which houses a small museum with artifacts from various ongoing excavations.